Electric safety-signal for railways.



PATENTED JULY '7, 1908. J. PERNAT (YL-J. KERKOWITZ.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 25, 190e.

z snLETs-sHLBT 1.

ELECTRIC SAFETY SIGNAL PoR RAILWAYS.

.T OHN PERNAT AND `TOHAN KERKOWITZ, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

ELECTRIC SAFETY-Sienna non RAILWAYS. l

. Specification of Letters Patent.

"Iiiaeatd Juiy 7, reos.

Application sied January 25, ieee. serial No. 412,604," j

Y To' all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN PERNAT and VJoijraN KnRKowirz, citizens of yUnited States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuya- 'hoga vand' State of Ohio, have invented cernals for railways, and it consists of the feavtures ofvnovelty hereinafter fully described and claimed.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive and reliable electric signal in which alarm devices on approaching locomotives will be simultaneous y operated the instant the locomotives enter the same' block or section of the track so that the engineers .will be notiiied of the approach of another train. y

The above and other objects of the invention are attained in its embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings in Which:-.

Figure l is a view vpartly in elevation and partly in section of our improved signal 'apparatus showing the same arranged on a locomotive which latter is indicated in dotted lines; Fig'. 2 is a top plan view of the same; Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a detail section on the line 4-4 in Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a diagrammatical view illustrating the electric circuit.

' In the practice of our invention we divide the railway track 1 into blocks or sections which are insulated from each other as at 2,

and 'we provide upon each locomotive `or other vehicle that travels over the track, two electrical contact members in the form of wheels or rollers 3 adapted to engage the trackrails. The wheels 3 are journaled in the forked lower ends 4 of rods 5 arranged for vertical sliding movement in a beam 6 on the locomotive. -Said wheels are pressed in contact with the rails llby coil springs 7 which surround the rods 5 and are arranged in cylindrical tubes 8 depending from the beam 6 and adapted to serve both as casings for said springs and as guides for the lower portions of said rods. Said springs have their upper ends bearing against the closed up er ends ofthe tubes 8 and tlielr lower en s bearing against circular'collars 9 `whlch slide within the said tubes and are retained A in position upon said rods by cross pins 10.

ailways, of which The 'downward movem'ent of the rods is limited by similar collars 11 and cross pins 12 located upon the projecting upper ends of the rods 5.

Upon each locomotive we also provide a normally o len electric circuit 13 in which are included a attery 14 or other electric generator, an electrically operated alarm or si nal 15, a switch 16 and the two Contact mem ers or wheels The alarm orsignal 15, may be an' electric bell or buzzer, an electric light or any ,other audible or visual signal; and it is located in the locomotive cab, as is also the generator 14 and the switch 16 which latter may be of any suitable type that Awill enable the circuit to be broken at the will of\the engineer. vThe terminals of the conductors of the circuit 13 are attached vto the upper ends of the rods 5 as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

The operation ofV the invention will be readily understood upon reference to Fig. 5 in which two locomotives indicated at A and B are in the same block or section of the track so that the open circuit 13 on each one will be completed through the other locomotive and the intermediate track rails. When the two locomotives enter the same block moving either towards each other or in the same direction, both of the signals 15 will be operated to notify both engineers of danger and said signals will continue to operate until one of the locomotives leaves the block.

Having thus described our invention what we claim is y In an electric signalfor railways, the combination with track rails divided into insulated blocks or sections, of a locomotive or the like, a wooden cross beam upon the loco'- motive and formed adjacent to its ends with vertical openings, bars vertically slidable in theopenings in said b am and having their lower ends forked, Contact wheels ournaled in said forked ends of the bars' and adapted to run upon the track rails, tubular guide casings surrounding the rods and depending from the bottom of said beam, lower collars upon the portions of Athe rods within` the guide casings and adapted to slide within the latter to guide said rods, cross )ins in said rods 'for limiting tlie downward movement of said collars, coil springs within the casings and upon said rods, said springs having their upper ends engaged with the bottoms of said casings and their lower endswwith said lower collars, upper collars upon the rods above y' a switch, and electrical conductors connect- In testimony whereof Weax bur signa--` sald beams, cross pms 1n said rods for limittures in presence of two Wltnesses.

ing the `u Ward movement of the u er c ollars, an e ectric generator, an electrllysignal,

sa1d switch, substantially as shown and de- J. D. YOAKLEY,

in said rods7 said generator, said signal and Vtne/sses:

scribed. l W. P. PRESTON. 

